Soling 1M #16

It was 80F with a 12 mph breeze from the south-southwest, Ideal conditions to check if the leak in my boat has been solved but I was really under the weather and didn’t make it to the cove but 6 members did. Ready to race and have some fun. Which they did.

Paul won three races, Bill Raposa won two and Bill David won one and that was the order for the day.

The full results can be found on our website mhbmyc.org

DF95s do battle next Thursday, September 1st when the high tide will be at 12.19.

Solings race again next Tuesday, September 6th when the tide will be coming in from a low at 10.05.

And please make a note of the revised date for the Soling Regatta, Tuesday, September 13th

Stay safe and well,
Derek

Club meeting 8/25

The meeting was held after a delicious lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs prepared by Kathy Melven and Marge Fuller. Coleslaw was prepared by Pat Hanna. Many, many thanks, ladies. They received a well-deserved round of applause.

The members attending were Bill David, Henry DiPietro, Jim Fuller, Kim Hanna, Rob Hill, Jim Kelly, Wilkie Marvel, Dick Mahoney, Danny McHugh, Paul Mercer, Bill and Shelley Northup, Will Plante, Bill Raposa, Al Sampson, David Vigeant and me. Also invited were Judy David, Connie Sampson and Mary Anne Plante.

Apologies for absence had been received from Nick Bailey, Pat Donovan, Rich Field, Ed Haddad, Al Meyer and Ned Popovic.

Derek welcomed those attending. It was a good turnout and we were especially happy to see Will Plante. We thanked Will for donating his DF95 (Sail number 92) to the club.

Kim gave the treasurer’s report and said that paid membership stood at 23 and that, before paying for the lunch, our treasure chest contained $3,064.

Soling Fleet Captain, Bill Raposa said that it is a crazy year for weather disruptions and generally only 4 to 8 Solings have been racing. So, more Solings, please.

Rob Hill gave the report as DF95 Fleet Captain and said that there was generally a good DF95 turnout, typically 10 to 12.  The lack of wind this morning was disappointing and maybe we should switch to afternoon racing if the morning wind forecast looks bad, We agreed to give it a trial.

Alerts will be posted on our website mhbmyc.org

Paul proposed that we acquire more buoys so that we can put them in our racing area such that we can configure appropriate courses whatever the wind conditions  and can leave them in position for the entire season. We approved this idea. The current marks were purchased from Hamilton Marine. Rob will decide what we need and Wilkie will collect them from Hamilton as he intends to be in this area. 

Al flagged up that there is a hole in the rescue boat that needs to be repaired. Rob volunteered to add this to his list of boat projects.

Rob led the discussion on the format of the regattas. He proposed that we run six races in the morning with a short break after three and do the same in the afternoon. No entry forms and no entry fee. Just turn up. Bring your own lunch. Soft drinks will be provided by the club, possibly beer after the last race.  The low scoring method will be used with prizes for the top three places. Rob will be the Race Director for the Soling Regatta and Derek for the DF95 event.

The Soling Regatta was originally planned for September 20th, but Bill Raposa will be out of the country then. It’s unthinkable that we could hold the Soling Regatta without our Fleet Captain so we all agreed to bring it forward to Tuesday September 13th

The DF95 Regatta will be held as originally planned on Thursday, September 22nd.

Derek led the discussion concerning the Annual Awards Banquet to be held in the Village Clubhouse on Sunday, September 25th at 6.00 pm. This is a potluck event with husbands and wives of members invited. Emails to me please of what you intend to bring and Kathy will make sense of it all. Bill Raposa has been a stalwart in the preparation of the banquet, but he’ll be away so Kim and I will take on the task. The club will prepare the room and provide beer, wine, soft drinks and water.

It was decided that the existing club officers will continue in their roles at least until our kick-off meeting next spring.

Under “any other business” , Derek suggested that he bring the boards in the clubhouse lobby up to date. They run up to the date when we started to run two classes of boats, 2019. This was agreed.

Rob said that the Soling in the lobby also wanted some attention and he agreed to add it to his projects list. He was also asked if he could scrutinise Will’s boat before the club puts it up for sale. He added it to his project list!

At this point, the meeting was declared over. I think everyone left happy.

Keep smiling,

Derek

DF95 Series #15

We abandoned all attempts to race today as there was very little wind. 

Let’s try with the Solings next Tuesday, August 30th when the tide will be at a high at 10.48.

Then it’s into September with the DF95s. Thursday, September 1st when the tide will be coming in to a high at 12.19.

Report of today’s club meeting to follow.

Have a great weekend,

Derek

DF95 Series #14

Very brisk west wind near B rig initially. Significant waves and incoming tide as well. By the last race, we were down to 6 boats attesting to the wind strength.

Today was Henry DiPietro’s day with 4 wins and a third place finish. Henry quickly figured out the course and dominated with several of his wins significantly ahead of the fleet. Rich Field had a good day as well finishing second overall. Rich had 1 win and 4 second place finishes. Bill David grabbed the last win and had 2 seconds and a third.

Others who finished the day included Al Sampson, Kim Hanna and guest Trevor Perkins in that order.

There were several breakdowns and drop outs as well as tight sailing at the windward mark at the south end of the course. We chose to run the course twice around giving us two long windward legs.

With temperatures in the mid-seventies, low humidity, and strong winds from the west, it was no surprise that 12 members brought their boats to the cove this morning. Judy, once again, started and scored the races in her usual flawless way.  Many thanks, Judy.  As I had sold my boat, I brought binoculars and helped where I could. Connie Sampson was there to give a cheer to number 44 and Village resident Don Fraser came down to see what we got up to on Thursday mornings.  We welcomed Trevor, the son of member, John Perkins racing number 83.

Rob set the course: Starboard around the orange mark, the downwind to the green mark, taken to starboard, twice around and back to the line. 

I thought of calling this write-up, “Tales of Attrition”. You’ll see why.

During the warm-up sail before the start, Rob’s boat had a breakage of the line guide at the rear of the boat and couldn’t race. so he took on the role of Race Director, called the starting infringements, acted as line judge, called the finishers, helped members with tuning details and, to cap it all, gave everybody the secrets of successfully negotiating this course. Well done, Rob.

So then there were 11

In the first race, Pat failed to finish and didn’t race again today

So then there were 10 and so on down to the surviving six at the end of the six races.

Here’s what Rob wrote: (paraphrased a little) “Very brisk west wind, significant waves, and incoming tide meant competing in fabulous but challenging conditions. Today was Henry DiPietro’s day with 4 wins and a third place finish. Henry quickly figured out the course and dominated with several of his wins significantly ahead of the fleet. Rich Field had a good day as well with one win and 4 second place finishes to finish second overall today. Bill David grabbed the only other win and had 2 seconds and a third”.  Thanks, Rob.

Al Sampson, Kim Hanna, and Trevor Perkins had the only other boats afloat at the end of racing. They finished 4th 5th and 7th, with David Vigeant in 6th place. He had the only rescue of the day when his boat tangled with, as he put it, “heavy seaweed”

Paul Mercer, Jim Kelly, Al Meyer, and Pat Donovan all had problems and retired.

The full results are on our website mhbmyc.org

Solings take their turn next Tuesday, August 23rd when the tide will be at its lowest just about start time. 

DF95s will dazzle again next Thursday, August 25th when the tide will be low and turning at 12.41.

Stay safe, and well, and have a great weekend,

Derek

Soling 1M Series #14

Temperatures in the mid-seventies, a strong wind from the northeast, and an absence of humidity convinced 6 members to bring their boats to the shore. The tide was high and coming in with a high just after noon. New DF95 sailor, David Vigeant put in an appearance to see how the other half sail. Judy David started races and kept score and did her usual excellent job. Thank you, Judy.

Fleet captain, Bill Raposa set the course: north to the far red striped mark, around it to port then downwind on a long stretch to the orange mark also taken to port and back to the line. Sounds easy, but it wasn’t. The wind was anything but steady. It was variable in strength, gusty and flukey.

There were only 4 races today, too few to count., but fun while it lasted.

Jim Kelly got off to a great start winning the first race and was second to Bill David in the next, but he didn’t race any more ( undisclosed tech problems). Bill Raposa also had problems and didn’t participate in races 3 and 4. Kim was the only other race winner today but in the fourth race, Kim made a turn, and I didn’t, with the consequence that I hit Kim’s boat. This snapped the shroud and his mast collapsed. Kim rowed out to collect his boat and demonstrated how useful a Boy Scout rowing badge can be………even much, much later in life.

I’m very sorry, Kim. I owe you a beer at least. 

The two Bills and Pat were the only survivors today. There’s work to be done!

Although there were too few races to count towards the championship, the results

 can still be found on our website mhbmyc.org

Next Thursday, August 18th, will see the return of the DF95 fleet when the tide will be coming in towards a high at around 2 o’clock. No quirky winds, I promise

Solings race again a week from today, Tuesday, August 23rdwhen the tide will be just about fully out at our start time of 11 o’clock.

See you Thursday,

Derek

Soling 1M Series #13

Yet another hot and humid morning with a brisk wind from the southwest and a tide almost fully out, turning at 11.15 persuaded 6 members to “Get those boats in the water”. I was late and joined for race 3, but Paul had to drop out of racing this morning because the servo arm on his new Soling loosened and the tool to fix it was at home.  Judy David once more did a fine job of keeping score and starting the races. Thanks, Judy.

Bill Raposa set the course, starboard around the SW marks, downwind to the far red striped mark taken to port then a long run to the SW marks rounded to port, and downwind back to the line.

We held 7 races today but had only two winners, Bill David won 5 and Bill Raposa won 2. Bill David was second in the two races that Bill R won Bill R had two seconds and two thirds. 

Bill David was today’s champion with Bill Raposa runner-up. Third overall was Pat followed by Kim, just 1 point behind…………..  I was also there!

The full results, as always, are on our website mhbmyc.org

At the moment, the forecast for Thursday, August 11th when DF95s race again shows a possibility of showers and a very light breeze. This is New England, however, and we know how quickly things can change. The tide will be going out with a low at 1.15 pm. Watch out for emails and alerts on mhbmyc.org

The next chance for the Solings will be Tuesday, August 16thwhen the tide will be high at 12.19.

Bring out your Solings!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Derek

DF95 Series #12

DF 95 Series #12 today.

A very pleasant day, fantastic day actually. Generally South wind at 10 with relatively flat water. Mid tide. Our fleet numbered 11 boats with only a couple of minor breakdowns. The dinghy stayed dry and all 11 were in the water at the end.

Judy David joined us and skillfully scored. Thank you.

David Vigeant purchased Derek’s boat #35 and joined the fleet today. Henry DiPietro brought his beautiful  new boat for her first event. And Rob re-emerged from where ever he’s been for nearly 2 months.

The course was a triangle, rounding the two SW buoys to starboard, down to the green leeward mark to port, back to the two SW buoys to port, then home. This gave us two good windward legs and a challenging start as the initial port tack had to be hard on the wind to clear the first marks and minimize the crossing tack. 

Three skippers won races today, Henry had one, Rich Field took two and Rob won three. Some found the leeward green mark difficult to negotiate as it was hard to know when to turn to clear it.

The top 5 finishers were Kim Hanna at fifth with 21 pts including 1 second. Henry took fourth place with 19 pts including a first and a second. Paul Mercer was third with 15 pts including 3 second place finishes. Second went to Rich Field with 12 pts / 2 firsts. And Rob won the day with 8 pts, three firsts and a second.

Congratulations to all for a well sailed day.
Rob


Bad day for Solings

Hi All,

Today started out warm and humid with a good SW breeze, at least away from what little high tide beach there was.  6 sailors were ready to sail.  We had a stellar scoring team, consisting of Judy and two granddaughters, Sophie and Maggie, all of whom were there to celebrate a birthday with “gramps”, AKA Bill D.  

Bill R. set up the course with the usual start line that didn’t require the rowboat to set up (more on that later).  The course went around the two windward marks taken to starboard, then around the green mark to port, then around the windward marks to port (a long upwind leg) to cross the start/finish line downwind.  All went well until half way through the first race, when Paul had a problem with his new Soling that had him limp in half-way through the race.  The Bill R. won the race, followed by Dan and Kim.  Then came the second, and as it turned out tragically, final race of the day.  Jim K. joined that race and Kim and Bill D. got irretrievably hung up after rounding the two upwind marks.  The race finished with Pat D. winning, followed by Bill R. and Dan.

As soon as Bill R. finished the second race, he volunteered to take the rowboat out to get the two tangled boats, which were making great time toward Fall River.  It was a long row which will earn him extra beer from Kim and Bill D.  Bill D.’s boat was in tact, although in need of adjustment, while Kim’s had a broken main boom.  With now a long delay and few boats still seaworthy, we decided to call it a day and celebrate with Bill D. with cupcakes that Wilkie brought.  

Kim

DF95 Series #11

Having dodged the forecasted storms and settled for a cloudy morning and a brisk wind, 11 sailors were pleased to bring their boats to the cove this morning. Judy started the races and kept score. Thank you, once again, Judy.  Connie was there too to cheer on number 44 and potential new member, David Vigeant came along and sailed Jim Kelly’s boat for a while.  I’ll explain later.

With the wind from the south (more or less), the start line was east-west (more or less). Paul set the course: South to the red striped and orange marks, taken to starboard then downwind to the green mark taken to port, back to the orange mark taken to port, and downwind to the line, The wind was patchy and varied so it was quite a challenge today.

We held eight races today. Of the first 5 races, Rich won 3 and was second in two.  Off to a great start, but the gremlins struck and Rich was out for the last 3 races with battery/control issues but he still finished fourth overall.  In third place was Kim with 4 third places, but the real contest was between Bill D and Paul.

Paul was the winner with 3 wins, 3 seconds, and 1 third place. Bill had 2 wins, 2 seconds, and one third.

We had a large number of problems today with six of the original eleven out of the last race, but the most serious event was when Pat lost control of his boat and off it sailed to Common Fence point. pat also took off by car accompanied by “Hawkeye” Jim who handed his controller to David.

After the racing, we were discussing  Pat’s boat and wondering what had happened when we heard the unmistakable sound of a Fiat  Abarth and Pat’s return having found the boat. He even brought back Jim.  I hope Pat and Jim still had a good time today as well as the rest of us.

The full results and all the news are on our website mhbmyc.org

Owing to a family visit I won’t be able to sail on next week’s two occasions which are on Tuesday, August 2nd for Solings. High tide around noon.

And Thursday, August 4th for DF95s when the tide will be coming in to a high at 1.36 pm

Have a great weekend and lots of fun racing next week.

Derek

Soling 1 Meter Series #11

A welcome break in the humidity, low tide, a gentle breeze, and the prospect of a cookout generously organized by Soling Fleet Captain, Bill Raposa, tempted 8 members down to the cove this morning. Judy, once again, operated the starter and kept score. Many thanks, Judy.

We were pleased to welcome Rob Torresen, newly appointed  AMYA region 1 Director for DF65s as our guest.

With the wind from the west southwest, we had a start line vaguely parallel to the shore.  Bill Raposa set the course: South, around the orange mark, taken to starboard, downwind to the red striped mark also taken to starboard, and back to the line approached from the shore. There were six races but the final race was twice around, just to work up an appetite for Bill’s cookout.

The wind turned out to be quite tricky with highs and lows in patches.

Paul won the first race and also the last two. With 1 second place and 2 thirds, Paul was the clear winner today. Bill David was the second overall with 1 win, 2 seconds, and 1 third. I managed third place with 1 win, 1 second, and 1 third.

The only other race winner today was Danny who tied with Kim on 20 points but got fourth place by virtue of his race win. Bill Raposa was just 1 point behind Danny and Kim, but then, his mind was on hamburgers and hot dogs. Jim and Pat also had a good time. Lots of fun as always.

After racing, we all went to Bill’s cookout and enjoyed beer, water, hamburgers, and hot dogs, but, most of all, the great company made even better when Dick Mahoney and Ed Haddad joined us. 

Bill’s wife Pauline also joined us and we thanked them both very much.

A very enjoyable time.

The full results are on our website mhbmyc.org

DF95 racing resumes on Thursday, July 28th when the tide will be heading towards a low at 1.41 pm

Solings take to the water again next Tuesday, August 2nd when the high tide will be at noon.

Take care, and smile a lot.
Derek